The GATE examination is one of the toughest examinations of the country. Being the prestigious competitive examination one has to go through for getting a Master’s degree among the prestigious colleges in the country, the examination is quite sought after by people who want to go for higher studies. Because of the nature of the examination, the number of aspirants is quite high, making it quite difficult to crack the examination without sufficient practice.
There are people who have really made up their goal of going for higher studies are generally ones who have made up their mind well before they want to sit for the examination. However, there are people who find it difficult to decide if they want to go for higher studies or go for a job immediately. If you’re one who’s hanging in between higher studies and placements, then this is the perfect article for you. Even if you’re one who started earlier, this article can help you with quick ways of revision when the exam is close.
One honest disclaimer – do not expect to be as successful as the ones who have been preparing for one or two years for the examination. You might certainly be able to get through with decent marks, but the ones preparing earlier had the advantage of practicing a variety of problems which gives them a competitive edge. If you’re from a decent college or one who has developed a decent idea about the topics just by studying for your semesters, then you might be able to get a good rank. Note that these tips are not necessary for success, it’s only something which we feel helps in the preparation and reduces the pressure to perform.
- 10 days isn’t an awful lot of time. Be sure to plan ahead with a proper routine. With the proper planning and execution, it is possible to whip up quite some preparation in these 10 days. If something doesn’t work out, it is always wise to make minor changes to the routine.
- Practice from the last 10 years of GATE papers. Ideally, at this time you have some idea about the subjects and the topics that are asked, so it is necessary to understand the format in which questions are asked. Also, it is better to solve papers as a whole than to solve topic wise questions to keep up with the pressure that kicks in during the last few days of preparation.
- Work on your weaknesses. This seems a bit of rather unconventional advice, and most people would advise you to work instead on your strengths instead. Weaknesses are what hold you back, and ideally prevent you from going the extra mile to secure that rank to get a master’s in your dream college. Improving the odds by reducing the impact of weaker subjects (or topics, for the sake of discussion) can work out quite well.
- Every year, one of the IITs (or the IISc) gets to organize the GATE examination. Every institute favors particular topics over others, and careful prediction of the same can help improve the overall score a lot. For example, the GATE 2020 examination is to be organized by IIT Delhi, so practicing papers like GATE 2012, GATE 2004, GATE 1998, GATE 1992 and GATE 1986 helps give a decent idea about what topics they might focus on.
- Go for certain lifestyle changes if possible. Avoid spicy foods that might affect your health. Steer clear of social media and definitely any place where people are venting about the pressure of the examinations. You need to stay focused, and negative thoughts throw your mind astray. While these might seem to be very minuscule changes, they actually have a bigger impact than you might think.
